Coordinated Research Aims To Improve Honey Bee
Health

In response to a fast-spreading
syndrome called colony collapse disorder (CCD) that's striking honey bees
nationwide, scientists at Agricultural Research Service (ARS) bee laboratories across the country are
pooling their expertise. They want to learn whats causing the
disappearance of the honey bees that add about $15 billion a year to the value
of U.S. crops by pollinating fruit, vegetable, tree nut and berry crops. Some
beekeepers have already lost one-half to two-thirds of their colonies to CCD.

In Tucson, Degrandi-Hoffman is leading scientists at the
ARS
Carl Hayden Bee Research Center in studying carbohydrate and protein
supplements, Africanized bee stock improvements and varroa mite controls.

The new bee-focused areawide program will also incorporate university
partners, apiculturists and many others. By the end of this coordinated
five-year effort, researchers hope to have specific recommendations ready for
beekeepers to use to manage their bees more efficiently and improve colony
survival, especially during long-range transport.

Read
more about this research in the February 2008 issue of Agricultural
Research magazine.